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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. stock — shares
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stock — goods
  8. bear — the animal
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. shower — to wash
  11. content — the amount
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. foot — a measure
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. content — happy
  17. bear — the animal
  18. shower — rain
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. lean — thin
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. lean — to bend

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com